This invention relates to a device for crushing foodstuffs for kitchen and domestic use which extracts or crushes the vegetables or fruits, drawn through a drum member, within a tapered cylindrical member in which a screw member slowly rotates, thereby crushing the vegetables or fruits and accordingly extracting the juice therefrom.
Many crushers have been proposed. Generally, they have some form of plunger which is forced down a barrel to squeeze and crush or mash the garlic against a perforated plate. In this way, the garlic becomes crushed and small pieces of flesh and the juice are forced through the perforations.
Another type of the conventional crusher includes a hollow cylindrical inlet member being formed with an inlet opening at a front portion thereof and a hollow cylindrical crushing member being formed with knife-edges at an inner surface thereof. The inlet member and the crushing member are engaged with each other, and a screw member which is being successively formed with a transferring thread portion and a crushing thread portion on the outer surface thereof and is connected to a motor is pressed inside the crushing member. With the actuation of the motor, the screw rotates so that it moves the vegetables or fruits drawn through the inlet opening toward the crushing thread portion so as to crush the same between the knife-edges and the crushing thread portion and discharge the juice and crushed stuffs.
However, the foodstuffs transfer mechanism of the conventional crusher is achieved by the motor making the screw thread rotate, and as a result of increase of the volume of the foodstuff to be compressed, the load applied onto the crushing member or squeezing member becomes larger with the foodstuff progression. So, there is a possibility of a breakdown or a damage of the crushing or squeezing member. In addition, since the crushing operation depends solely on the frictional interaction between the knife-edges and the crushing thread portion, there may present a transfer of uncrushed foodstuff along the transferring thread portion in case of a relatively large foodstuff particle size. This results in a decrease of the crushing efficiency and crushing out a relatively crude stuffs.
Furthermore, within the crusher, there remains a sludge which eventually ferment, resulting in an insanitary environment therein.
It is therefore an object of the present invention in one aspect to provide a crusher for domestic use where the aforementioned problems are avoided.
According to the invention there is provided a device for crushing foodstuffs, comprising: a housing for a user hold; a motor installed inside the housing; a drum member being assembled to a front portion of the housing and including an inlet portion for introducing foodstuffs therein and an extended portion integrally formed with the inlet portion; an internal cylindrical member inserted into the extended portion of the drum member, the internal cylindrical member being formed with a plurality of screw knife-edges along the inner peripheral surface thereof; a screw member inserted into the internal cylindrical member and formed with a plurality of cut portions for pre-crushing the foodstuffs drawn down thereonto, the screw member being successively formed with a transferring thread portion and a crushing thread portion at outer surface thereof; and a cap assembled to a front portion of the extended portion of the drum member for fixing the internal cylindrical member to the drum member.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the crushing thread portion of the screw member is formed with a plurality of jaws for increasing a frictional force against the inner cylindrical member. Preferably, the jaws are located between the thread pitches.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, the internal cylindrical member is formed with a shoulder along a front circumferential portion thereof for fixedly engaging with the cap.
In accordance with a preferred embodiment of the invention, engaging portions between the internal cylindrical member and the cap are tapered for press-fit the same.
As an important aspect of the invention, the internal cylindrical member and the screw member are surface treated for anti-fermentation. The surface treatment includes melamine resin plus ceramic powder deposition and anti-fermentation liquid coating.
As an alternatives, a cylindrical mesh member is provided, the mesh member replacing the internal cylindrical member in case of crushing a juice.
By the use of the present invention, the foodstuffs to be crushed can be easily moved and effectively crushed by way of the cut portions at the transferring thread portion of the screw member and is finally crushed finely by way of the jaws between the crushing thread portion, resulting in a reliance of the defect-free structure. In addition, the fermentation of the sludge is restrained by the way of the shoulder structure at the front of the internal cylindrical member.